McCain's New Iraq Fantasy

After yet another crushing special election loss for the GOP, and with Obama's national numbers building strength against his rival, John McCain has realized the need to take a new direction, beginning today with a horrifyingly disingenuous speech.

McCain has consistently opposed even the slightest notion of setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. It had been the drumbeat that walked his weak candidacy to the doorstep of the Republican nomination. He has even, to his dismay, suggested that we may stay in Iraq for 100 years, a quote that has made its way into Democratic stump speeches, and DNC commercials.

McCain has argued that the characterization is unfair, that in fact, he was describing a scenario akin to Germany or Korea, in which the United States has a peaceful presence in Iraq, in the absence of the kind of violence to which we have all become accustomed. Of course, such a formulation demonstrates a dramatic divergence from reality. Iraq has never been, nor will it ever be, analogous to Germany or Korea, neither of which had the kind of deep-seeded sectarian violence that we see in Iraq. Moreover, it is our occupation of the Middle East that has served to increase the level of violence, as well as the recruiting aims of Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. Our presence is the underlying cause. That John McCain believes a long term occupation of Iraq could provide stability to the region is sufficient evidence that John McCain does not understand the world around him.

What's worse is that, even taking his formulation at face value, McCain is claiming a willingness to keep our troops in Iraq, no matter the loss in life, for however long it takes to eventually have no more loss of life. The silenced names on the Vietnam Memorial know the value of such a policy.

As a result, McCain has decided to break with his own precedent, and to claim that, unlike all of his previous statements, he expects an end to the Iraq war by the end of his first term. In a major address today, McCain envisions that, by January 2013, we will be welcoming most of our troops home. He sees that future as one in which "the Iraq war has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension. Violence still occurs, but it is spasmodic and much reduced." This latest suggestion is, in its most positive light, a political ploy. And it is preconditioned on the impossible.

If he believes what he is saying, then McCain is yet again showing a passing understanding of the conflict in the Middle East. Even by the most generous assessments, it would take at least sixteen months to withdraw our troops from Iraq. To have the bulk of our troops home by January of 2013, with his preconditions having been met, would require that McCain somehow achieve this functioning democracy and dramatic decrease in violence within two years of taking office. From where does he imagine he will find political reconciliation? In what sense can he expect a reduction in violence, given no evidence that a long-term reduction is sustainable? It is simply not feasible to assume that our exit from Iraq, if it were to coincide with the happy ending McCain portends, could possibly happen in either 100 years or on his new shortened timeline.

It is far more likely, however, that McCain does not believe what he is saying, that he has not in fact, had a genuine change of heart. The conditions on the ground in Iraq have not changed. But the political conditions for this election have. This is not an honest assessment from the self-appointed king of straight talk. It is rather yet another false promise, uttered with a straight face, as an attempt to survive an election, and with no intent to follow through.

With comments that break with himself and the GOP, McCain is showing yet again that he has a willingness to lie that truly makes him a Bush Republican.

Comments

[hopelessobama]

mccain has promised to win iraq by 2013, while obama, the anti-war candidate, can't even promise to get all the troops home by that same date.

[rbspickles]

Obama's plan is an 18 month drawdown. Which makes it mid 2010. And what happened to McCain's 100 years or did you conveniently forget that remark? You trolls are so boring anymore. You are too oblivious to reality to even argue with.

[chosenson]

Yes. And the only way McCan can get the troops out AND get Bin Ladin by 2013 is to adopt Obama's withdrawal plan. We should thank McCain for the endorsement! McCain is now an ObamaCan!

[newworldman777]

First, McCain was against setting timetables for our troops, pledging 100 years in Iraq. Now, McCain wants to set timetables for our troops, getting most of them out of Iraq by 2113. I wonder if Sean Hannity will pounce on McCain's propensity to flip-flop, like he did with Kerry in '04.

[Pollitrix]

Win McCain Has not explained win - Bush definitely hasn't explained win. So you explain it to me.

[hopelessobama]

don't be afraid dylweed, maccain is going to win, iraq will be secure, and then you and the libs will have to explain why you preferred saddam to the new democratic iraq. i know this possibility is what drives your opposition, the need dems have for iraq to collapse to justify their appeasement of hussein and his tyranny. but, unfortunately for you and barry, mccain is going to win the election, win in iraq, and in doing so will keep your pathetic party out of the white house for a generation. get used to it.

[BannedFromCommenting]

LOLOLOLOLO­LOLLOLOLOL­OLOLOLLOLO­LOLOLOLOLL­OLOLOLOLOL­OLLOLOLOLO­LOLOLLOLOL­OLOLOLOLLO­LOLOLOLOLO­LLOLOLOLOL­OLOLLOLOLO­LOLOLOLLOL­OLOLOLOLOL­LOLOLOLOLO­LOLLOLOLOL­OLOLOLLOLO­LOLOLOLOLL­OLOLOLOLOL­OLLOLOLOLO­LOLOLLOLOL­OLOLOLOLLO­LOLOLOLOLO­LLOLOLOLOL­OLOLLOLOLO­LOLOLOLLOL­OLOLOLOLOL­LOLOLOLOLO­LOLLOLOLOL­OLOLOLLOLO­LOLOLOLOLL­OLOLOLOLOL­OLLOLOLOLO­LOLOLLOLOL­OLOLOLOLLO­LOLOLOLOLO­LLOLOLOLOL­OLOLLOLOLO­LOLOLOLLOL­OLOLOLOLOL­LOLOLOLOLO­LOL!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!

[beachykeen02]

Why aren't you over fighting the great NEOCON fight for world democracy, or looking for WMDs? You obviously have more time on your hands than you have brainmatter to fill, so do everyone a favor and explain McCain's process for WINNING ANYTHING! Better yet...go democratize Bush's good friends, the Saudi royalty, or his BFF trade partner, China! They could use some good "democracizing" right now.

[Peddler]

THis conflict in the middle east has been going on for almost 1500 years.....­....and McCain is going to resolve this issue within the four years of his Presidency­........wh­ich by the way will never happen. As a former Vietnam Veteran...­........yo­ur statement is pure bulls**t..­....and if I'm inaccurate in my statement go and ask the 58,000 names on the Vietnam Memorial..­.......for all who gave everything­........wh­at were the results...­......we left......­..just like we are going to do in Iraq.

[madmaggie57]

Peddler-Don't forget the thousands that are still suffering to this day from Nam. I see a whole new generation of soldiers suffering in the same manner. For what? Lies & bullshit! The WMD's were equivalent to the Gulf of Tonkin. So many brave died for what? So IBM & other greedy corporations could ship our jobs oversees to make cheap products & multiply their profits. And you're right, also about the conflict in the Middle East going on forever. These people have killing each other in their DNA. America cannot halt sectarian violence that is ingrained. So bring our overstretched, stop-loss troops home. Concentrate on Afghanistan, you know, where the real enemy exists! McSame doesn't even lie well. He's flip-flopping to pander to anyone who might be naive enough to listen. He's as believable on this as he is on his newfound enlightenment regarding globalwarmng. American's can't be this gullible.

[slemay]

Republicans have proven themselve irresponsible--on the war, by failing to fight it; on the economy by weakening the dollar, increasing federal employment, borrowing heavily from China, Saudi Arabia, and others; and on the Constitution by actively invading the private lives of American citizens. They have handle immigration poorly. Ronald Reagan subsidized Saddam Hussein and supported him in his war against Iran. Reagan also supported Osama Ben Laden in his war against Russian in Afghanistan. Blaming this on the Democrats is beyond naive. It reflects profound ignorance of recent history.

More to the point, Bush and company argued for the Iraq war based on WMDs and Al Quaeda, neither of which were found in Iraq when we got there. Because we were distracted by Iraq, we let Ben Laden get away in Afghanistan.

President Bush and Vice President Cheney are both physical and moral cowards who avoided war for their own part. They are either idiots or they are deliberately evil (I vote for one of each). But the man who would succeed them, McCain, looks like four more years of the same stuff. But at least he actually went to war, so he knows something about it.

But please don't put him or the Republicans in charge. They've been wrong and in charge for too long.

[wmfor]

You have been repeating this mantra since 2003, just like Bushie. Why don't you just tell us that they will greet us as liberators and strew rose petals at our feet?

[FirstShirt]

Oh God. I'm a republican and just when I think it is safe to go back into the water old John says something when Lieberman isn't there to whisper in his ear. Our a** is going to get kicked soooooo bad in November. The good news is that after two years of democratic "rule" the repubs will retake the congress. And, Hillary will be running again...ju­st watch..a la Kennedy and Carter.

[KillTheMessenger]

Yadayadayada.

[ShorelineCT]

I guess letting the commanders on the ground decide when to withdrawal theory has been thrown under the bus. McCain is now for "cut and run" strategy!

[edpell]

He is lying to get elected. Is this a big surprise from a politician?

[Bigeasy]

Politics has usual, see's the people are against the war so whats he do sets a time table, what happen to the 100yrs its changed to 4. These politicians are getting me sick they'll say anything to get elected.

[dukeman]

Lets get out of Iraq this Summer and have a gas tax holiday for 100 years.

[GeorgeWRumscroft]

McCain's speech is "We will be greeted as liberators" -- Part 2. And Nixon had a "secret plan" to end the war.

Republican's need to be evaluated on their performance (total failure in every respect) not on big talk of pie in the sky." Just stay the course with us and everything will be wonderful". Just empty talk when there isn't a shred of evidence to support these rosy predictions.

If you think that Republicans have done a fantastic job in Iraq so far, then they are your guys. On the other hand, if you prefer to avoid 100 more years of war at a cost of at lest 3 Billion a week, Obama is your guy.

[CactusTom]

While no one can predict whether or not the violence will get better or worse when we leave Iraq, it is for sure that our being their isn't going to help in any meaningfully way, but more than likely it will delay real solutions by real Iraqis rather than the treading of water by those US pinhead dupes hiding in the green zone.

[RickO]

I was talking with a friend in Germany recently who told me that a lot of the world views America as the Beverly Hillbillies. Generally good-hearted but mainly ignorant yokels who can't see past the end of their own noses led by corrupt yet equally stupid leaders. Gore Vidal said in an interview yesterday that a country that cannot recognize stupidity is out of business.

[BADEN]

I believe your friend in Germany is right.

Why else would the majority of the citizens vote constantly AGAINST their economic and personal interests.­...

Oh yeah....it­'s considered UNpatriotic to be against greed in the form of uncontrolled CAPITALISM.

"But, he/she shook my hand and promised me they CARE"....r­iiiiiiiiii­iiiiiiiiii­iiiiiiiigh­t.

[JulieSA]

Germany started two world wars, and to this day it keeps its military on a short leash by law, because the Germans don't trust their own impulses. i don't care what their opinion of us is. They know they can call on the Beverly Hillbillies for help if they ever need it, and we'll be happy to kick their butts again if they need that too.

[wmfor]

You are of course assuming we have any troops left. We could send the local volunteer fire brigade if the regular troops, the reserves, and the national guard are all in Iraq/Iran/­Afghanista­n.

And by the way, it is just your arrogant "I don't care what the other kids think, I'm better'n all of'em!" attitude that has earned us the contempt of the majority of humanity.

[Strywever]

Sadly, that's a view that's shared by citizens of other European countries as well. And who can blame them? Look at the image of Americans we broadcast daily on entertainment TV . . . the nonsense in our radio and television "news" shows . . . the idiocy in our "news"papers . . . and the caliber of people we elect. We don't give them a lot to change their perceptions, do we?

[Strywever]

P.S. Not to mention the utter stupidity and willful ignorance -- of not only American issues, but also global issues -- that we proudly demonstrate on blogs like this one!

[JimR]

Will you please be quiet? I'm trying to watch "American Idol."

[Liberal2]

What..."tr­ying"? Ya need subtitles or sumtin? Other than that, you've defined the average American voter.

Scary. Ain't it.

[julieeiluj]

He is so old, and so mental, heaven help us if he wins.

[Peddler]

I'm told that God destroyed this world three times to make it a better place.....­.....and we know three strikes and you are out.......­.......hea­ven isn't going to help this time......­...but you are right.

[JimR]

He knows perfectly well what he's doing. It's called pandering.

[westbrooks01]

2013? The end of his first term?

[apduncan1]

The truth is that McCain is expendable by the GOP; once the election is over he'll be a have been and neutralized.

Things won't change, though; Corporate America, the force behind the throne will continue in charge.

[urweatherman]

Are you jealous of corporate America perhaps? I think so!

[Peddler]

Two percent of the population of the United States controls 60% of the nation's wealth....­.....who do you think runs the country? Not jealously.­.....but fact. When was the last time a poor person offered you a job?

[ApolloSpeaks]

THE IRAQ QUAGMIRE

LIke it or not when we overthrew Saddam Hussein US troops replaced him as the regional buffer to Iranian ambitions. Right now Iraq is a Vietnam quagmire for our country. And all it would take to turn the quagmire into an Indo-China catastrophe-to regionalize the horrors of Darfur-is the 60s born Barack Obama removing our troops from the region.

[neve]

I'm no foreign policy expert, but even I could see that Saddam and Iran served as mutual detterents. Any plan to take out Saddam HAD to include a plan re: Iran and Syria, not to mention the shiites and sunnis. They did NONE of this.

[apduncan1]

What Iranian ambitions?

What are you talking about?

[ApolloSpeaks]

The ambitions cited by Ahmadenijad on August 28th of last year: "When America leaves the region we will fill the power vacuum." This is the same Ahmadenijad who said last week that "oil prices are way too low."

[Yuletide]

My guess is that when "we" overthrew Saddam Hussein, "we" pretty much ensured that Iraq would become a satellite of Iran. I can't see how American troops there will now stop that from happening short of perpetual warfare. Even if the American people are foolish enough to vote for McCain this time, and thus at least four more years of the same failed policy, it seems unlikely that they will support this idiocy, and the associated loss of American lives, indefinitely.

[ApolloSpeaks]

We stop it by destroying the mullahs.

[Paul]

File this under "Dominoe Theory".

[ApolloSpeaks]

Dominoes did fall: Not as many as first feared. But history proved the theory essentially correct.

[consultant55]

You obviously know nothing about the Vietnam conflict or its origins. After we left Vietnam in 1975, the war didn't spread. Vietnamese leaders had no designs other than to rid their country of foreign invaders; starting with the French, then the Japanese, then the Americans.

The Vietnam conflict is totally different from the Iraq War. The ONLY thing that is the same, is that in both conflicts, America went in under false pretenses.

Please, please, will someone please provide better elementary and secondary education for our country. Please!

[ApolloSpeaks]

Ho Chi Minh like Kho-mei-ne were revolutionaries, not nationalists, with regional aspirations. Shia Iraq is to Shia Iran what South Vietnam was to the North. The analogies are very striking if not precisely exact. By the way Mr. Historian why don't you tell us what the North Vietnamese army was doing in Laos and Cambodia? Answer: same as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Sadrists in Iraq.

[Lonestarmom]

McCain is truly not the same candidate he was in 2000. I am glad to see the MSM reporting more about his ridiculous plans for America. His goal is to continue with the policies that got us into such a mess and even as he changes his language the goal is the same. I trust that the American people are paying attention and will vote for Senator Obama. Voting Republican this election year is dangerous.­..they have no concrete plan for America!

[FirstShirt]

Trust that republicans are watching and just as concerned. I think most republicans expect to lose big in November but our friends the liberal democrats have a way of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory so who knows.

[krocklin]

It is clear what the only strategy McCain will have. This is all he has:
1) There hasn't been a terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.
2) Reverend Wright (through proxies).

And on the economic front, talking points just as vacuous as the above:

1) Inflation is under control (a lie)
2) Unemployment is still low
3) We have the best healthcare system in the world thanks to the "free market"

If this convinces the electorate, then they deserve him.

[urweatherman]

The above mentioned is better than what any democrat has.....NO­THING, except I want power!

[arglebargle]

I'd wait until Happy Hour to start drinking..­.

[Strywever]

Wow. I'm utterly swayed by the depth and obvious intelligence of your comments.
Thanks.

[urweatherman]

These items you mentioned beat what the democrats have.....N­OTHING but rhetoric and.....po­wer is all that matters!

[wmfor]

"power is all that matters!" Uh, isn't that what we had in lieu of diplomacy and... thought... for the last seven years? Bush waving his penis around. We don't need to see McCain's---please!